Voter turnout for Nov. 19 election may barely top 20%

Early voting for the Nov. 19 general election has picked up slightly, but election officials say current voting patterns indicate an election-day turnout of only about 20 percent.

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As of shortly after noon Wednesday, 57,488 voters had cast ballots since early voting began Saturday, a tad more than 2 percent of the state's 2,850,284 registered voters, Secretary of State Tom Schedler's office reported.

The Oct. 22 primary, which featured a governor's race, contentious contests for lieutenant governor and secretary of state and local campaigns, lured about 6 percent of the voters to the early-voting locations. Only 36 percent of the electorate voted in the 10-candidate governor's race and 30 to 35 percent in the other statewide races.

First Assistant Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin said that since the dismal first day of early voting when slightly more than 16,300 voters cast ballots, "things have picked up a little bit." He cautioned that those totals could dip again because early voting will not be held Friday, which is a state and federal holiday for Veterans Day.

That means voters wishing to cast a pre-election day ballot have today and Saturday to do so. Early voting is conducted in 87 locations around the state, including all voter registrars' offices and specially designated sites. Early voting hours are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

With only a statewide constitutional amendment to be voted on in all parishes, local and regional races -- such as runoffs for sheriff, clerk of court, state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and legislative seats -- will dictate the turnout, Ardoin said.

Schedler spokesman Sailor Jackson said voters in 605 of the state's 4,285 precincts will have nothing but the proposed constitutional change to vote on. He said that is the only item on the ballot in West Carroll, Concordia and Jefferson Davis parishes and parts of other parishes.

Ardoin said a hot race for sheriff in Rapides Parish made that parish tops in the state in early voting as of Wednesday afternoon with 3,708 votes cast, followed by St. Bernard Parish with 2,940. St. Bernard has legislative races, and contests for assessor, sheriff and clerk of court to settle.

Rounding out the top five heaviest-voting parishes were Livingston Parish with 2,266 votes, East Baton Rouge with 2,253 and Iberville with 2,211.